Trusted Sources

What is a trusted source?

A trusted source is a website or document that is written by a credible person or agency and has accurate, complete, current information.

Why are trusted sources important?

Trusted sources are important because there is so much information available online.  Anyone with access to a computer can say that something is true.  Reading false information online could lead you to use bad parenting practices, give your child the wrong medication or make you think that you are not eligible for an important service.

How can I decide if I trust a source?

There are many, many guides online that offer ways to evaluate websites. One of the best can be found on the Cornell University Library website. http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm

There are two parts to evaluating a site:

1.      Evaluating the author.  Some questions to ask yourself:

a.       Who is writing this?

b.      Why are they writing it?

c.       Could they be biased?

d.      Who do they work for?

e.       Do they have a good enough background to talk about this topic?

2.      Evaluating the content. Some questions to ask yourself:

a.       Who is supposed to read this?

b.      Is this fact or opinion?

c.       Are there good references listed?

d.      Where did they get their information?

e.       Does the site look professional?

What are some examples of trusted sources?

Some types of sites are more likely to be trustworthy than others.

.EDU                Sites that end in .edu are developed by and educational institution and are more likely to be based on research.

.GOV                A website ending in .gov is a government website.  Government websites also tend to rely heavily on research in their information.

Below are some websites that are trusted sources for parents:

American Psychological Association http://apa.org/

Disability.Gov http://www.disability.gov/

KidsHealth http://kidshealth.org/parent/

Medline Plus http://medlineplus.gov/

National Institute of Mental Health – Health and Outreach http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/index.shtml

National Network for Child Care http://www.nncc.org/

Tufts University Child and Family WebGuide http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/

US Administration for Children and Families http://www.acf.hhs.gov/index.html

USA.Gov http://www.usa.gov/

Zero to Three http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer